HTHELP

Back home after two days at SMG. A BIG thank you to Nicole for doing a fantastic job! She's a great artist and person. That being said, for anyone considering the procedure my initial reaction is that it's fantastic (i know there will be some fading over the next couple of weeks, but I'm hopeful that it will be minimal). The reactions from from my wife, to parents, kids, friends and co-workers (who I sent pics to) the response has been great. Here is a quick recap of the procedure where i'll try to address the questions I had going in. On my first day i was slightly taken aback from my appearance post shave down (I brought my own clipper so Nicole could match the buzz cut to what it produced..as I researched different clippers I realized that some cut closer than others at zero guard so this is something to consider for those of you that proceed. I chose to purchase the wahl peanut based on reviews and the fact that it buzzes really close). After the initial shock i got some meds to calm me and for the pain. I was little nervous based on some feedback and other reviews on what it would feel like but I can honestly say that it wasn't that bad at all. For the most part i'd rate it at 2 or 3 at most on the pain scale out of 10. Some areas up front are more sensitive..for those areas at most i'd say it was a 4 or max 5 at times (even on the second day when it was a little tender). I know everyone is different but for anyone concerned with the pain I would tell you not to be. For the most part it kinda felt like some scratching at you if that puts it in perspective. Day one is basically a "base coat" so it's lighter then it will be. I decided to venture out and go the mall to shop and see if anyone would notice or stare at me. I was slightly red in some areas but of the most part it looked like nothing was done. While shopping and talking to employees and a bartender not once did anyone look at my head or take a double look. When I got back to the hotel I inspected the results and noticed a couple of things I wanted to address the next day with nicole on the hairline (I forgot to mention that I agreed with the Dr. Joe the day before and he drew the hairline design which looked great). Day 2 was basically the same as day 1 except more "density" was added and the small change to the hairline I wanted was addressed. Nicole didn't like a couple of the "dots" so she addressed that as well. She has the patients self interest at heart for sure. Both days were around 5 or so hours I think including a quick (tasty) lunch. When I go back for my third touch-up secession i'm going to darken it a bit to get a little fuller look, but other then that I think it looks great. Upon real close inspection if someone doesn't know about SMP i'm confident in saying that they would not think that it's not hair. I think this is a real useful tool for anyone on the fence of getting a transplant or wants to go with the buzzed/shaved down look. I'll talk to Nicole and Jenna about posting pics etc. If something wasn't addressed that anyone has questions on let me know.

I've been following the forums for well over 10 years. My hair loss began when I was 16 (diffuse). As it got worse I started relying on concealers which were great at first. As my hair loss progressed its gotten harder to not only hide my bald spots but also the concealer itself. Although I've seen some amazing results from h&w, SMG, rahal,Cooley, konior and others I began to realize I didn't have the ideal hair characterstics to get the result I would want via a transplant. So sadly I came to the realization that I would need to shave / buzz down. That left me with the decision to either get a fue session done or go the temp SMP route. Because of my use of concealers to shave down without doing anything would leave a lot of explaining to do.so at the end of the day after a lot of research I've decided to go with temp SMP at SMG. (Leaving open the option to add fue but im hoping this will be a stand aloneprocedure)Although not an easy decision due to the uncertainty of how I will look I have a lot of faith in SMG and their stellar reputation. Knowing that they stand behind this as well as H&W gives me a strong level of comfort that I'll look good (undetectable) afterwards. I'll be sure to post pics and give updates after the procedure. I was fortunate enough to talk to some past patients myself and would love to be able to play it forward to others. Fingers crossed my next post will be a happy one post procedure.

What clinic did you go to? Is this temp smp or permanent?

Makes sense, thanks. Outside of the scar area would you say the rest of the smp is undetectable to your natural hair to someone who didn't know you had anything done (and even for those that do?)

Big improvement! Glad your happy. Do your buzz with a clipper or shave with a razor? Do you find the treatment to be "undetectable"? Also it sounded like dr.pak wasn't really pushing the smp route per your write up....can you elaborate on his reservations to the treatment if any?

Looks good. Big improvement! What do you use to buzz down with? 0 guard on clippers or do you shave it down?

Happy to see a new SMP result. Joe- do you know how close this patient buzzes down (no guard/1 guard/2 guard, etc.)? Hard to tell from the pics but it appears in some that the actual hair is longer then the smp in some areas so i was curios, thanks. Hairthere-can you pm when you have a chance I have some questions for you as I'm a New Yorker. Thanks.

Sadly I've had a similar experience with SMG in getting information regarding SMP. It's been frustrating and surprising given there transparency all these years when it comes to HT's. As I understand it they are taking it slow with the procedure but the customer service for those of us who are interested has fallen short....

Wow, only 6 months..hmmmm. I was under the impression that for the most part you could expect to see a solid 12 months (and in some cases 2 or 3 years) out of the temporary SMP. I know you received your treatment for free (which looked great) but I can’t help but wonder for someone who would have gotten extensive work done (getting their entire head done for a buzzed look for instance) I think they would be extremely disappointed in having it only last 6 months after shelling out some real decent $$$. Spex maybe you are the best person equipped to answer this as I believe you are working for Milena once again, but for situations like this (really quick fading) is there some kind of discount associated with the next procedure? I’m still confused on the pricing in general..I think I read on a previous thread that after the initial treatment each additional treatment is a lot less. Is that true? For any of the other clinics that plan/are offering this (H&W, SMG, Dr.Lindsey) I’d love to hear how your pricing structure would work and what kind of recourse someone would have in similar situation (premature fading)..I look forward to your responses. Thanks.

???????? So your showing his pre-op only pics in the "Results Posted" section? Am I missing something here? These are the pre-op pics right?

Although I wouldn't want to go through 3 sessions for 3K grafts everyone has their own financial restrictions (amongst other reasons) so I won't question that. What I will say is that like TC, I would be dissapointed with this result. I personally don't see one picture/angle that I would even consider remotly acceptable (hairline doesn't look good, view from the top looks bad etc). I'm not sure what this patients goal(s) was, but if he's happy then good for him.

Nice result, and documentation. I know that your clinic does FUE as well but rarely see any posts regarding it. I'd love to see them if you have them.

Good stuff as always from SMG. Janna do you happen to know the area covered and density that was implanted? Also any reason this patient shaved down for surgery (I was under the impression that you only shaved down for larger secessions) unless the patient was indifferfent,as I realize it makes is easier on all of you if they do. Also how many days did it take to complete the surgery and what has been the typical secession sizes for someone who is looking to get around 2K via FUE (can it be completed in 2 days?) Thanks

I just went through all the videos on the site (I usually view just the pics on my phone that you post since the iphone doesn't have flash). Needless to say super impressive as expected. Clearly there is a reason (outside of having someone taking the time to actually make the video) that many of the other clinics do not do this if you ask me... In this particular patients case do you know what the area covered was and what his final denisity achieved became? Your visual documentation is TOP NOTCH, I do wish that you would post a couple of more details though (I'm not talking about graft breakdown) but more along the lines of hair characteristics, density achieved and area covered. I think (for me personally) that would better help me gauge what I might be able to achieve given my current state. I applaud your visual transparency and hope you continue to raise the bar across the board. Thanks!

4.5 hours...is that some kind of record? Damn! Well done. anyhow it looks very good (as good as it can at this stage anyhow). A couple of quick questions for Doctor Feller. what was the patients goalregarding his hairstyle post HT? Is he looking to keep the buzzed look? How wide of an area was covered and what density was achieved? What kind of hair & donar did he have? Thanks!